Joules to finish year in the red as store closures slash sales

In an update to the City issued this morning, Joules said the impact of coronavirus between March and May “resulted in a material reduction in revenue and lower group gross margin” and predicted a loss before tax for the year of between £2m and £3m.

For the year ended May 31, Joules’ sales were £191m, down 12% against the same period the previous year.

Overall retail sales were £146m with store sales down by 20% and ecommerce sales up 5%. Wholesale revenues were £42m, down 26%.

On June 15, Joules reopened 12 stores and said it expects to “reopen its remaining stores on a phased basis over the coming weeks”.

Joules said it was “too early to accurately forecast how quickly and to what extent store footfall and sales will recover” and it is sure its “flexible and agile ‘total retail’ model puts Joules in a strong position to adapt to the way customers choose to interact with the brand going forward”.

Chief executive Nick Jones said: “Whilst this continues to be an exceptionally challenging period for people, communities and businesses, I am delighted with how Joules has responded over recent months. We were quick to adapt to the initial disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic by bolstering our liquidity position, preserving cash and focusing our trading online.

“We are very encouraged with the significant 40% growth in ecommerce demand during the lockdown period, which is particularly pleasing given the already established scale of our ecommerce operations.

“As we move out of lockdown and into a ‘new normal’ for retail, I am confident that Joules is exceptionally well positioned to continue to react to changing consumer behaviours and that our brand – which brightens our customers’ lives – is more relevant than ever to consumers.

“Whilst we will continue to face very challenging trading conditions over the coming months, the Joules customer base continues to grow, and I believe the brand is stronger than ever. We are now looking forward to the reopening of our stores as well as those of our wholesale partners.

“I would like to take this opportunity to again thank our amazing colleagues for their resilience and hard work, our loyal customers for their support, and our valued business partners for their flexibility and collaboration throughout this uniquely challenging time for us all.”